Episode 4 Watchdog


Episode 4

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Tonight - after what we found in the ice at those coffee shops,

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you asked us to check out the best-known fast food chains, too.

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And what's turned up this time is even worse.

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So, why are so many big names getting basic hygiene wrong?

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This is Watchdog - Live - and on your side.

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Hello, welcome to Watchdog, live for the next hour,

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tackling more of the topics you've told us matter to you.

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Thanks to everyone who's been in touch.

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Whether it's slow broadband, dodgy smart meter installation

:00:53.:00:55.

or being separated on a flight, you're not only tipping us off,

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but also helping us to keep pushing for results.

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One name in particular keeps popping up.

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Yes ? Volkswagon, we're looking at you.

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Every day, more Watchdog viewers say they're experiencing the same issues

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we revealed last week - sudden power loss at critical moments.

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And yet the company still seems to be stalling.

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On tonight's Rogue Traders - a nationwide car servicing company

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whose own staff say that to work there, you've got to leave your

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It's got a reputation for being Britain's worst

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mobile phone provider, especially for customer service.

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And you'll understand why, when you hear the impact of some

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Nobody at Vodafone seems to be fazed by the fact that this has cost us

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thousands of pounds in rent. Nobody at Vodafone seems to be bothered.

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With us tonight, more people whose mobile phone companies

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And Juliet is here to answer your questions on our Facebook page.

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She'll be answering your questions on our Facebook page

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But that's not the only way to get in touch, is it, Nikki?

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We love hearing your comments on all our stories,

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so please email us at [email protected].

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And of course, we're also on Twitter - @BBCWatchdog.

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All the messages you send us come straight through to

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And there's one story tonight that I'm sure is going to get a big

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reaction, and it's to do with the noise levels of some

:02:35.:02:37.

Yes, some of them are way louder than the experts say is safe.

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So to investigate - we called in a fella,

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who it's fair to say is on the rather loud side himself.

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Actor Brian Blessed has been testing out just how noisy some

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Wait till you see what they found out about hair dryers.

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Who could forget what we found in the ice at those

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Well, our swab mob's been at it again.

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Our investigation into coffee shop hygiene earlier in the series had a

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huge impact. The chains all promised immediate action, but following our

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report, a number of you got in touch with suspicions that other food

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venues might all have a problem with their ice. Many of you raised

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concerns about the fast food industry, in particular. As ever,

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you lead our investigation, so we sent our team to fast food

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restaurants to put them to the test. Our swab mob team tested the top

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three fast food chains where staff members serve ice, McDonald's,

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Burger King and KFC. On average, we eat more than 100 fast food meals

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each per year. With an estimated 50,000 outlets across the UK, you're

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never far from a familiar sign. We tested ice front-end branches of

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each chain and sent them straight off to our laboratory for analysis.

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We took all these samples after our first investigation hit the

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headlines, so you might have thought the chains would have checked to

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make sure their ice hygiene was up to scratch. I have set up my own

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pop-up watchdog fast food restaurant. And I've invited back

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Tony Lewis from the Chartered Institute Of Environmental Health.

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Lovely to see you. Here we are again. And given what we found out

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last time, what are your thoughts? I would have hoped that businesses

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across the country producing ice drinks would have stepped up and

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looked at the results and made sure that their ice machines were clean.

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Well, let's have a look at what we found. We tested our ice for

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indicators of faecal contamination, the kind we found in nearly half of

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our coffee shop ice samples. Tony, remind us what is an acceptable

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level? In ice, none. And Defra, the government department which sets

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water standards, agrees. The safe limit for these is zero in drinking

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water. But unfortunately, we found these again in our samples, and not

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just in one or two. First, McDonald's. Out of ten stores

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tested, we found traces of these coliforms in three out of the ten

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ice samples. You have got traces of coliforms, they should not be there.

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In Burger King, we found coliforms in six out of ten ice samples. And

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four of those contained significant quantities. That's more of a worry.

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They are or worry, it is just a matter of the level of risk! And

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finally, KFC, where we found these coliforms, which let's not forget,

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are indicators of faecal contamination, in seven out of ten

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samples, five of them in significant want it is. So across all of our

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samples, more than half came back positive for coliforms which are

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indicators of faecal contamination. So in fact, a higher number than we

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found in coffee shops. Tony, it's everywhere, isn't it? More than half

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our samples! Yes, it is, extremely worrying. What is the most likely

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cause? When we're finding these sorts of numbers, you have to look

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at the people making the ice, handling the ice, which they then

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transferring to customer Paul Cullen streaks. And you have to look at the

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machines themselves, are they being kept clean? It can, the risk is low

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but it is still unacceptable. I would be particularly concerned if

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you are a vulnerable person, if you are compromised in any way. Then you

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are at a greater risk of being ill as a result of consuming drinks with

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this high-level of coliforms. You don't expect that from an ice drink.

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Definitely not. We found this in two different industries now, do you

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think this is bigger than we thought? It may well be. We have

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looked at coffee shops, we have now looked at fast food restaurants. Is

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it elsewhere? The likelihood is that it is. I've also invited along some

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watchdog viewers to see what they make of our results, including Tom

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Brady, who suggested taking a closer look at the fast food chains. Now,

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Tom and Amber, I know you wrote into the programme, Tom, to tell us about

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your concerns about fast food chains. So, in the high street

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chains we looked at, one of them had coliforms in three out of ten, the

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other six out of ten, and the other, seven out of ten. That's quite

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alarming in to think that it is as high as that is really, really not

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nice to hear. And when we told some more burger loving viewers, well,

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they were disgusted. Does this make you worry generally about hygiene? I

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think this is the tip of the iceberg, could it spread to other

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things? This is 2017, it's incredible! I would probably choose

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now not to get a drink with ice in it. That is a bit of a surprise to

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me, I did not expect that. It is not something you really think about.

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And this leaves us with one serious question. Are the authorities doing

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enough when it comes to protecting us against dodgy ice when we eat

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out? Well, one environmental health department was so concerned by our

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report on coffee shop hygiene, they took immediate action. The team at

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Jersey environmental health went out to coffee shops on the island that

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same day to take samples of ice for testing. We are here to protect

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people from anything which might affect their health, and clearly if

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there is a suggestion that ice in coffee and things is a problem, we

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need to check that. The samples they tested came back clean. But

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following our report, they now intend to make ice testing. Regular

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part of their inspections. My boss has said that we will be checking

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public houses, my clubs, bars and restaurants and it will become a

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regular feature. So, isn't it time all authorities across the UK did

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the same and made sure the ice we are served is fit to drink?

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Well, all three chains have told us about their procedures for the safe

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management and handling of ice, from inspections and cleaning,

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They've stressed they'll be reinforcing those

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KFC, where we found the most bacteria, said it is shocked

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and extremely disappointed by our results, and it immediately

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shut down the ice machines in the restaurants affected

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to conduct a thorough clean and inspection.

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And it says that to reassure customers, it's also inspected

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and cleaned the ice machines in all 890 of its other

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Burger King told us cleanliness and hygiene are its top priority,

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and it's taking this as an opportunity to ensure all

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And McDonald's, whose ice came out best in our tests,

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was also the one that sent us the most detail on its

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It has reiterated that the bacteria we found there didn't include

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e-coli, which is the most reliable indicator of faecal contamination.

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But it says it would welcome the introduction of an agreed

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Are you worried about these results? Yes, it is worrying, it was the

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coffee shops, and now it is the fast food chains. When you go in for an

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ice cold Creek, you do not expect it to have these coliforms in it, these

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indicators of faecal contamination. What would you do if you were a boss

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of a fast food restaurant? It is all about hand washing. We know that

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people are told to wash their hands, but are they taught how to do it?

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When we have medical students in the hospital, we teach them how to wash

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their hands, and if they get it wrong, we make them do it again and

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again. It's not clear how much of that is going on in these places.

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But how much do you police it as well? They say they are doing the

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training, so how can you make sure that the bill are washing their

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hands properly? Well, one thing we do when we're teaching kids in the

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museums, at the university in Liverpool, we have a programme with

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the local Science Museum, and we put on this glow gel stuff and then they

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wash their hands, and you can show them with UV light where they have

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missed. You can get kits like this for about ?40, so this is something

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maybe some of these stores should be considering. So you have some kind

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of machine where you can see whether you have actually got stuff on you?

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It would not work quite like that, this would be when you're training

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them. At the moment there is nothing that you could use routinely every

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time people wash their hands. And what about the authorities, do you

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think we will see more testing? Clearly it is not currently part of

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the way environmental health routinely operates when checking

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premises out of. But we've heard one environmental health authority is

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interested in doing that, and maybe this is something which will become

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more widespread. Thank you very much for your time.

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Now on Rogue Traders, we've talked before about the difference

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Engineers are there to tell you the truth about your problem

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and then fix it in the best and cheapest way possible.

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The more it costs you, the more they make.

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Now imagine a company that puts a salesman

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in between you and the engineer you need to fix your car.

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As a business, Servicing Stop of Enfield could not have had a better

:13:03.:13:33.

start back in 2009. Together, we run the company. We have around 600

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garages across the UK, carrying out MOT and service and repairs. We are

:13:42.:13:46.

affordable, convenient and we have fixed, transparent costs. On

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average, we are 30% to 50% cheaper than the main dealer. In fact, their

:13:51.:13:55.

prices seemed almost too good to be true, offering MOT for ?24 and a

:13:56.:14:00.

full service for just ?98 on average. Three dragons offered to

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invest in the business, with Deborah Meaden making the best offer. But

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they turned her down! How daft is that?! I have often thought of just

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coming up with some kind of business proposal so I could be turned down

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BY Deborah Meaden! Talking of which, this is a mobile phone which

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exfoliates while you chat! Hi, mum! Deborah, call me... So, the Dragons

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are out of the picture, but how does the business work? When your car

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needs a service, instead of calling your local garage, you call

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Servicing Stop. The company picks up your car and delivers it to a local

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garage, one of a network they use nationwide. The garage decides what

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work needs to be done and then submits a report to Servicing Stop.

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One of their service advisors, who get paid commission, by the way,

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then pass on to you the good or the bad news. Sadly, it appears that

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someone in this setup has been misbehaving! And Servicing Stop's

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bad behaviour starts on its website, which offers customers an incredible

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60% off main dealer prices IF they book by the end of the day. Except,

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this offer seems to be available every single day! The clock simply

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resets! Misleading offers like this are

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against the law. But Servicing Stop does not stop there. Just ask Chris

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Owen who got a surprise when he booked his Megara live full Volvo

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in. -- mega- reliable Volvo. The guy said it would need new tyres. I said

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how much will it cost me? He said North of ?800. The first

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notification you get is they have carried out a full service, it will

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cost more than 800 quid and your car is effectively held to ransom unless

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you pay that money? It was. Chris refuse to pay the work and instead

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took his card to a Volvo specialist who carried out the repairs and MOT

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for nothing like the 800 quid quoted by Servicing Stop. Having got the

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specialist evidence now, I am really annoyed that they tried to rip me

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off. It is clearly a rip-off in my layman's head, that they are taking

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cars in, then ringing you with a list of faults, expecting you to say

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yes, carry on with the work and get your car back. But how we can -- how

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can we know for certain that Servicing Stop or up to no good?

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That they are getting their network of garages to carry out work that

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does not need doing. If only there was someone in the middle of the

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process that we could talk to. A garage. Hello, a garage. Simon Webbe

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is a garage owner who until January did work for Servicing Stop for

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format three years. He says the company's service advisors kept

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pressuring him to carry out unnecessary extra work. When I say

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extras I am talking about predominantly the brake fluid and

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engine flush. Probably 80% of those. Quite often we would take calls

:17:27.:17:33.

saying they wanted this doing, this doing, and that is when we started

:17:34.:17:38.

to say no, it doesn't need doing. Frequently, we had arguments, big

:17:39.:17:42.

arguments as well, including threats that they are going to take us off

:17:43.:17:46.

the system, to which we responded, go ahead, no problem, because we

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knew they couldn't get anyone else in the area who would put up for us.

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Time for us to test this for ourselves by sticking our own car

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into the machine to see what pops out. Meanwhile... Summon a

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studentship. Your job, should you choose to accept it, and you do, is

:18:09.:18:14.

defined yourself a role at Servicing Stop of Enfield, and please don't

:18:15.:18:17.

confuse it with other firms who may have the same or similar sounding

:18:18.:18:22.

name, because it will make it hell to do your travel expenses. Now go,

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you who shall be known as Anna, and find a role in customer services.

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Find a role she does, and she is making friends already. Pleased to

:18:35.:18:41.

meet you, how are you doing? Good, and yourself? Somewhere there is a

:18:42.:18:44.

link in the chain which is cause enough pain. The Richmond brothers

:18:45.:18:46.

don't seem to have got the message. You can sell, or you can help -

:18:47.:18:51.

blur the boundary - Until you see it,

:18:52.:18:53.

you won't believe it. Now, a cracking result

:18:54.:18:58.

following a story we did last week looking at how fraudsters have set

:18:59.:19:02.

up fake fundraising sites to cash The problem is, it's not

:19:03.:19:05.

very clear to work out who you are giving your money

:19:06.:19:09.

to on some fundraising sites. Last week, we had on our sofa

:19:10.:19:11.

a manager from one of the best-known fund raising sites, JustGiving,

:19:12.:19:15.

who promised to make it much clearer which appeals

:19:16.:19:17.

are from registered charities. Yes, they've made it much

:19:18.:19:19.

simpler now, so when you're on the JustGiving site,

:19:20.:19:25.

you'll be able to see at the top of a fundraising page whether it's

:19:26.:19:28.

a registered charity or just Proper results, good one. Last week

:19:29.:19:41.

there was only one story in town about whether bolts wagon were being

:19:42.:19:45.

straight with their customers, denying a problem when hundreds of

:19:46.:19:47.

you think that there is. Hundreds of you reckon that VW's

:19:48.:19:53.

efforts to fix one problem have Here's a reminder of

:19:54.:19:56.

what we said last week. Volkswagen was found to have fitted

:19:57.:20:03.

some cars were the cheapest device in 2015 to fiddle the results of

:20:04.:20:09.

emissions tests. Over a million cars were affected, not just VW models,

:20:10.:20:18.

but Audis, say ats and Skodas. Lisa Jones is one of hundreds of Watchdog

:20:19.:20:24.

viewers to say her car has never been the same since having a fixed

:20:25.:20:30.

done. Several times her VW Passat has lost power and gone into limp

:20:31.:20:34.

mode. We would go and see Premier League darts. Going up the M5, the

:20:35.:20:41.

card has died. Limp mode. As Lisa took her car over to the hard

:20:42.:20:45.

shoulder, a lorry crashed into the back of it. It was, oh my God, we've

:20:46.:20:51.

been hit by a lorry. From the boot to the passenger door was pretty

:20:52.:20:58.

much crumpled in. If I wasn't as quick to react, it could have been a

:20:59.:21:05.

lot worse. A lot, lot worse. When Lisa contacted VW, the company stuck

:21:06.:21:10.

to what has become a familiar line. There was no connection between what

:21:11.:21:15.

happened and the software fix. But MP Louise Ellman, who chaired a

:21:16.:21:18.

transport select committee into the emissions Campbell, told us she did

:21:19.:21:25.

not think that could be true. This is simply outrageous. This is not

:21:26.:21:29.

fixed that works. It is creating more problems. VW should stop

:21:30.:21:33.

denying the problem they have created and put things right.

:21:34.:21:37.

Well, many hundreds more of you have been in touch on that story

:21:38.:21:40.

Or you're just not convinced by what Volkswagon is saying.

:21:41.:21:45.

Yes, it's hard to know which comments to read out -

:21:46.:21:48.

You've been telling us about near misses with lorries

:21:49.:21:51.

and tractors after going into limp mode ? that's when your car can

:21:52.:21:54.

Robert Prince told us he had the fix in December but within a few weeks

:21:55.:22:06.

it was breaking down and going into limp mode repeatedly. He says his

:22:07.:22:10.

car is not performing as well as it was before the fix and when he told

:22:11.:22:14.

his VW dealership, they said they had never heard of the issues

:22:15.:22:20.

before. That is scary. It is also garages who have been getting in

:22:21.:22:25.

touch. Couple of independent dealers have been in touch. One said when

:22:26.:22:29.

they first had customers they thought it was just isolated cases

:22:30.:22:33.

but as time goes on they think there is a pattern relating to the fix

:22:34.:22:36.

software. The fix is free, but you don't

:22:37.:22:43.

have to have it, do you? No, it's not compulsory - and quite

:22:44.:22:46.

a few of you have told us you've changed your mind about having it

:22:47.:22:49.

after seeing our report. Others like Tim Sheppard wish he'd

:22:50.:22:52.

known it was optional. Tim says all of the documentation he

:22:53.:22:54.

saw made it look like it was Well, the cases are mounting up,

:22:55.:22:58.

but VW's not budging. It still says its fix

:22:59.:23:01.

has no adverse impact, does not cause or increase

:23:02.:23:03.

the incidence of limp mode occurring, and there

:23:04.:23:06.

is no systemic problem. But it's again said that anyone

:23:07.:23:08.

concerned should get in touch. Why hairdryers could be

:23:09.:23:16.

damaging your hearing. We sent shy and retiring actor

:23:17.:23:19.

Brian Blessed to investigate. And in 24 hours, you mustn't use it

:23:20.:23:33.

more than two minutes. To dry your hair? Two minutes?

:23:34.:23:38.

If you're considering buying a house, maybe

:23:39.:23:41.

thinking about is speaking to your mobile phone provider.

:23:42.:23:45.

If you're a Vodafone customer, it could make all the difference.

:23:46.:23:58.

Since its launch in 1984, Vodafone has always had a knack for

:23:59.:24:04.

generating headlines. It boasts the first mobile phone call made by a

:24:05.:24:12.

member of the public, 1p wise, to be precise in 1985. It was the first

:24:13.:24:18.

company to launch date and tech services. But recent headlines have

:24:19.:24:22.

not been so positive. Vodafone has been by far the most complained

:24:23.:24:27.

about mobile phone network, according to official stats. In May

:24:28.:24:32.

this year Vodafone announced losses of over ?5 billion. This coming just

:24:33.:24:36.

months after the regulator Ofcom handed it one of the biggest ever

:24:37.:24:43.

finds for a telecoms company. The company was forced to pay out a

:24:44.:24:48.

staggering ?4.6 million, for misleading customers on

:24:49.:24:53.

pay-as-you-go contracts, and mishandling complaints. But Ofcom

:24:54.:24:57.

dropped its investigation into billing problems for those on

:24:58.:25:00.

monthly contracts, saying the level of harm appeared to have been

:25:01.:25:07.

relatively low. It seems that not although differing customers agree.

:25:08.:25:11.

You have been telling us the issues with Vodafone contracts could be

:25:12.:25:15.

causing much more harm than just incorrect bills, even if you have

:25:16.:25:20.

done nothing wrong. I have come to Staffordshire to meet Eleanor

:25:21.:25:23.

Murray. She and her partner Joe paid a terrible price for a mistake made

:25:24.:25:27.

by Vodafone which ended up scuppering their dream of buying a

:25:28.:25:32.

new home. We put an offer in and the offer was accepted which was

:25:33.:25:34.

fantastic. We were really excited to move in. Then

:25:35.:25:50.

we went to apply for the final part of the mortgage and we were told

:25:51.:25:53.

that the mortgage application had been declined. We were really

:25:54.:25:55.

confused. We checked through a couple of different credit Chequers.

:25:56.:25:57.

Then one showed that Joe had been receiving a default from Vodafone.

:25:58.:26:01.

Vodafone had continued to charge the couple for an account he had failed

:26:02.:26:04.

to counsel when he upgraded the phone. They found that default on

:26:05.:26:12.

Joe's credit rating. They had not received any bills until then. As

:26:13.:26:17.

the couple soon realised, your credit record is like your financial

:26:18.:26:25.

CV. If you miss a payment, the company can put a black mark on your

:26:26.:26:29.

record. Vodafone put this black mark on your credit record -- Vodafone

:26:30.:26:35.

put this black mark on their credit record even though they did not owe

:26:36.:26:40.

the company any money. What was this house like? Was gorgeous. Easy to

:26:41.:26:44.

get to my parents and his parents. It was everything we were looking

:26:45.:26:48.

for. Then someone ousts with dinner and bought it after it was declined

:26:49.:26:53.

for us. Vodafone gave them ?50 compensation and took the black

:26:54.:26:58.

marks of their credit record by but by then it was too late, the house

:26:59.:27:03.

had gone. Eleanor says they have lost out far more because they have

:27:04.:27:08.

been stuck paying rent rather than paying a mortgage. How do you feel

:27:09.:27:13.

you have been treated by Vodafone? Nobody Vodafone seems to be fazed by

:27:14.:27:18.

the fact that this has cost us thousands of pounds in rent. Nobody

:27:19.:27:26.

at Vodafone seems bothered. We have been contacted by other customers

:27:27.:27:29.

who say the company's mistakes have had a huge impact on their credit

:27:30.:27:34.

scores and their lives. Laura from Edinburgh cancelled her Vodafone

:27:35.:27:37.

contract in October 2015 but the company carried on trying to take

:27:38.:27:43.

payments. She also had a mortgage application cancelled after Vodafone

:27:44.:27:47.

placed black records on her record. And Louise and Mike Jennings from

:27:48.:27:54.

crew contacted us after finding that Vodafone had put black marks on

:27:55.:27:57.

their record. The company had mistakenly opened a sub account in

:27:58.:28:01.

their names. Most people we have spoken to have convinced Vodafone to

:28:02.:28:05.

remove the black marks on their record but others have had a much

:28:06.:28:09.

bigger struggle. Sue Cook from Weymouth held three Vodafone

:28:10.:28:13.

accounts for herself and family members. Vodafone failed to properly

:28:14.:28:19.

processed a contract cancellation in 2015, and since then, Sue has

:28:20.:28:23.

received dramatically increasing bills each month that nobody at the

:28:24.:28:28.

company seems able to explain. Irbil now stands at over ?2000, and

:28:29.:28:33.

despite her best efforts, Vodafone still cannot tell her why. Vodafone

:28:34.:28:40.

customer service is, there isn't one. It is not being handed to a

:28:41.:28:44.

particular department to be handled professionally. Sue has desperately

:28:45.:28:50.

been trying to resolve this with Vodafone. The company has now

:28:51.:28:55.

started recording miss payments on her credit file and passed her

:28:56.:29:01.

details to the debt collection agency. I went into a mother Leave

:29:02.:29:05.

another mobile phone provider to get a contract phone and I was declined.

:29:06.:29:12.

I was shocked. I thought the only people who could have done this to

:29:13.:29:17.

me was Vodafone. Sue's credit score dropped down to 190 from 999. This

:29:18.:29:25.

is affecting her plans for the future. My desire is to downsize. I

:29:26.:29:31.

would like to move to something smaller. I know this is going to

:29:32.:29:36.

have a big impact on this. They do stringent credit checks now. This

:29:37.:29:41.

has put a hold on everything. Just something as small as a mobile phone

:29:42.:29:46.

has escalated to have an impact on my credit score to be able to move

:29:47.:29:51.

home. This has left me feeling very anxious and upset, and I just don't

:29:52.:29:56.

know what the next step is going to be. It is the unknown now. Sleepless

:29:57.:30:02.

nights may be for a little while longer. I just need this all to come

:30:03.:30:04.

to an end. From the cases we have seen, it

:30:05.:30:13.

seems Vodafone can be incredibly fast to put back marks on a

:30:14.:30:19.

customer's records, even when the case in question is very much in

:30:20.:30:24.

dispute. How do mobile phone providers measure up against other

:30:25.:30:29.

service providers? Mobile phone providers on the worst performers in

:30:30.:30:34.

our experience when it comes to debt collection in the UK. The things we

:30:35.:30:42.

see include a debt being referred to a debt collection agency before all

:30:43.:30:45.

of the avenues on the investigation have been exhausted by the company.

:30:46.:30:50.

So one thing we are calling on mobile phone companies to introduce

:30:51.:30:57.

is a blanket rule that says, if a dispute has been reasonably raised

:30:58.:31:01.

by a customer about their bill, that all debt collection activity will be

:31:02.:31:05.

suspended until that dispute is work out. When the impact of its billing

:31:06.:31:11.

errors can be so four, shouldn't Vodafone be quicker at putting

:31:12.:31:14.

things right so that customers don't end up paying so heavily for ITS

:31:15.:31:16.

mistakes? Vodafone told us it is sorry

:31:17.:31:21.

that its service to these customers wasn't significantly better and says

:31:22.:31:24.

that since 2015 it has invested heavily in upgrading systems,

:31:25.:31:26.

improving employee training, and recruiting 2,000 additional

:31:27.:31:28.

customer service roles. It says these changes have

:31:29.:31:31.

significantly improved customer service, but it will continue

:31:32.:31:34.

to drive improvement. We have us with us Juliette,

:31:35.:31:55.

telecoms barrister. And we have also gotten Aqib, what is happening with

:31:56.:31:59.

your phone? My contract ended briefly years ago, it was under my

:32:00.:32:03.

dads name, and it was continuing to be built, and it is affecting my

:32:04.:32:08.

dad'scredit score. How popular is that making you in the house? Not

:32:09.:32:15.

very! How do you resolve that? You should contact your network

:32:16.:32:18.

provider, you should ask them if they are prepared to resolve the

:32:19.:32:22.

dispute, ask them for a deadlock letter which immediately invokes

:32:23.:32:26.

alternative dispute resolution procedure, which would then result

:32:27.:32:30.

in the matter being dealt with. Alternative dispute resolution, a

:32:31.:32:34.

very good way to go, to take it out of your hands, and the hands of the

:32:35.:32:39.

provider. Fantastic. We have also been contacted by customers of EE

:32:40.:32:49.

and Three on Anglesey, what has been happening? We had five weeks with no

:32:50.:32:55.

signal on the island, it was not ideal for us, with Alison expecting,

:32:56.:32:58.

paying ?20 per month for the contract. We want to make sure that

:32:59.:33:04.

we have the right compensation. Absolutely, so, contracts and

:33:05.:33:09.

coverage, Juliette, what happens with compensation from these guys?

:33:10.:33:15.

Again, there are broad obligations to provide collectivity on a

:33:16.:33:19.

national basis. In this instance again, if you're unhappy with the

:33:20.:33:23.

way they are trying to resolve the dispute for you, then you can raise

:33:24.:33:27.

the dispute resolution procedure with them. They should offer you

:33:28.:33:32.

compensation first normally, in these circumstances. We put your

:33:33.:33:40.

situation to Three, and EE, who both apologise and say they will consider

:33:41.:33:43.

compensation on a case-by-case basis. If you have any mobile phone

:33:44.:33:48.

contract questions, Juliette will be answering them throughout the show.

:33:49.:33:51.

Just head to the watchdog page on Facebook.

:33:52.:33:54.

Next, back to Rogue Traders - and a glorious start on Dragons' Den

:33:55.:33:59.

should have meant great things for Servicing Stop, business baby

:34:00.:34:01.

But they turned the Dragons down, and now a raft of customer

:34:02.:34:05.

complaints has us asking where it all went wrong?

:34:06.:34:08.

We're about to put our finger on exactly where,

:34:09.:34:10.

Seems like the Dragons narrowly avoided getting burnt.

:34:11.:34:21.

Stooge and is undercover at the headquarters of Servicing Stop in

:34:22.:34:27.

Enfield. Meanwhile, we booked in our favourite stooge car in for a

:34:28.:34:32.

service and MOT, and they quoted us ?96. But this is no ordinary car. It

:34:33.:34:37.

has been checked top to bottom by the best testers in town, MOT tester

:34:38.:34:42.

Mike O'Sullivan and automotive engineer assessor Mark Brownto check

:34:43.:34:46.

out whether Servicing Stop do a proper service, they leave a few

:34:47.:34:49.

wheel nut lives and tyre pressure is low. Apart from that, they reckon

:34:50.:34:53.

our car doesn't need of thing doing to it. ?496 there should not be any

:34:54.:34:59.

additional costs on top of that. They should not find anything else,

:35:00.:35:02.

the vehicle should be OK. Crystal clear. Servicing Stop collect the

:35:03.:35:10.

car, and we await the good news. The guys in the workshop have given us

:35:11.:35:11.

their report. What?! How much?! And Servicing Stop

:35:12.:35:33.

make it clear that the work NEEDS to be done. It is essential for the

:35:34.:35:39.

running of the car? Yes. Because obviously, if the fuel filter gets

:35:40.:35:45.

blocked up, you will end up with the vehicle lacking power, emissions

:35:46.:35:53.

will be too high, worst-case attention in breaking down. Breaking

:35:54.:35:56.

down, the very next day? This sounds serious! There is no reason why the

:35:57.:36:01.

car should break down if that fuel filter wasn't changed. OK, that's

:36:02.:36:07.

not serious, then. And remember what they said when they turned down the

:36:08.:36:12.

Dragons... On average, we are 30% to 50% cheaper than the main dealer.

:36:13.:36:17.

Well, not today. Because they charge a whopping ?77 for the fuel filter,

:36:18.:36:21.

and ?54 for the other treatment. The fuel filter is twice as expensive as

:36:22.:36:27.

the main agent would charge. And the fuel treatment, four times as

:36:28.:36:30.

expensive. And win our experts kept the vehicle back, they did the basic

:36:31.:36:35.

safety checks, and they could tell they had not been properly done. It

:36:36.:36:40.

surprises me that they have not carried out such fundamentally

:36:41.:36:43.

important work, like taking the wheels off to check the brakes, and

:36:44.:36:46.

checking the tyre pressures is the most basic job on a service. So,

:36:47.:36:51.

they carried out repairs we didn't need, they overcharged and gave us a

:36:52.:36:56.

shoddy service, leaving our car in a potentially dangerous state. Great

:36:57.:37:04.

job, guys! Time, then, for stooge and to find out what's going on at

:37:05.:37:07.

Servicing Stop headquarters. Watching on to give his opinion is

:37:08.:37:12.

Mark, a commercial and business lawyer with 25 years experience in

:37:13.:37:16.

the field. First up, Anna notices that almost every customer is

:37:17.:37:22.

charged an extra ?24 plus VAT for synthetic oil, or as Servicing Stop

:37:23.:37:25.

describe it, specialist oil. But just how specialist is it?

:37:26.:37:42.

Not specialist, then. What does Mark think going how specialist is it? It

:37:43.:37:51.

is actually illegal to be misleading, or to put something

:37:52.:37:53.

across to a consumer in a misleading way, when in fact, it is not really

:37:54.:37:59.

specialist, is it? We are still wondering why our stooge car got

:38:00.:38:03.

such a shoddy service. Anna is in customer services, so we need

:38:04.:38:07.

another stooge, Mick to find out where to send our cars too. To be

:38:08.:38:11.

clear, the company claims it has put in place quality checks with each

:38:12.:38:13.

garage. Google, sounds rigorous! There is nothing wrong with choosing

:38:14.:38:41.

them in a random way, but if they are telling people that they are

:38:42.:38:44.

vetting them, they have to vet them, and they are clearly not. Next up,

:38:45.:38:48.

prices - does Servicing Stop really deliver the unbeatable repair prices

:38:49.:38:52.

it claims? Not according to some of its own workers. Take, for example,

:38:53.:38:54.

a brake fluid change. And it seems Servicing Stop can

:38:55.:39:17.

simply make up the prices as they go along. Just look what we've got hold

:39:18.:39:21.

of. Servicing Stop's own training manual here. It tells staff sales

:39:22.:39:26.

advisors will need to use their own discretion when calculating customer

:39:27.:39:30.

prices. If you put too much on the job, then it won't get agreed. If

:39:31.:39:34.

you put too little, you won't make any commission! Wow! They don't put

:39:35.:39:44.

that on the adverts are! She's unconvinced, I think! That is

:39:45.:39:48.

putting its somewhat mildly. If you're relying on the fact has that

:39:49.:39:52.

you're going to these people because they tell you they will give you a

:39:53.:39:55.

good price, and you're being overcharged! Finally, the claims

:39:56.:39:59.

that Servicing Stop tell customers they need repairs which aren't

:40:00.:40:02.

necessary. Oh, here's a service advisor now! These people never see

:40:03.:40:08.

customers' cars, and yet are on commission to sell extra repairs...

:40:09.:40:30.

Wow! He's effectively saying that there are people in that room who

:40:31.:40:40.

will sell you things you don't need. That's right. The law specifically

:40:41.:40:45.

says that if they try and tell you you need something, a part or

:40:46.:40:49.

service or repair or something, and it's Andrew Kometa illegal. Were it

:40:50.:40:54.

the odd rogue salesperson, it might not be a systemic problem in the

:40:55.:40:57.

company. But by being something which everybody seems to know about,

:40:58.:41:01.

clearly there is a cultural problem there as well. Wow! Dine out! And it

:41:02.:41:05.

is backed up in the Servicing Stop training manual, look! No car should

:41:06.:41:11.

go to payment with just a service, and no advisories on the report.

:41:12.:41:15.

There is always something that can be sold. There it is, in black and

:41:16.:41:19.

white. Staff have to sell you things, even if you don't need them!

:41:20.:41:26.

Even some of Servicing Stop's own staff aren't happy about it. Check

:41:27.:41:29.

out what they say about those devilish service advises.

:41:30.:41:38.

And lots of it, according to this manager.

:41:39.:41:48.

The service care department at Servicing Stop is full

:41:49.:41:55.

of salesmen who are on a mission to make commission.

:41:56.:41:58.

They'll use your car to drive up the bill.

:41:59.:42:00.

We're exacting Meaden's revenge, in around 15 minutes.

:42:01.:42:11.

Shall we talk about what's been happening online? I know my

:42:12.:42:16.

flamingos have caused a bit of a stir! In all seriousness, loads of

:42:17.:42:19.

stuff coming in about the stories we have been talking about? Yeah, as

:42:20.:42:24.

expected, strong reaction to the film on fast food hygiene. This one

:42:25.:42:29.

says, this is horrid. Someone else on Twitter - he's going to be

:42:30.:42:34.

getting his drinks without ice for a while! And a lot of messages about

:42:35.:42:39.

our Vodafone film. Jonathan on Facebook says he had a nightmare

:42:40.:42:43.

after trying to cancel his Vodafone contract, and he's struggling to get

:42:44.:42:47.

the black marks removed from his record, which is stressful. This one

:42:48.:42:51.

says, she had issued with her phone network and credit report and says

:42:52.:42:55.

she has had to get the ombudsman involved to get them removed.

:42:56.:42:58.

Certainly a lot of people concerned about the stories we're talking

:42:59.:43:01.

about. Keep in touch and keep your comments coming in, and we'll have

:43:02.:43:04.

more on all of them a little bit later on. Now, do you recognise that

:43:05.:43:12.

noise? It takes about 50 minutes for me to blow dry this lot! It is hard

:43:13.:43:19.

to hear ourselves over the sound of the hairdryer, but never thought it

:43:20.:43:23.

could actually be damaging your hearing. And it is not the only

:43:24.:43:27.

device which might be too loud. Are obvious choice to investigate is the

:43:28.:43:38.

actor Ram Som - and he's loud! Modern life can be so noisy, it can

:43:39.:43:42.

be hard to find a moment of peace, even in your own home! -- actor

:43:43.:43:47.

Brian blessed. I am not known for being quiet, so I realise my hatred

:43:48.:43:54.

of all things loud is just a bit ironic. From leaf blowers to

:43:55.:43:59.

blenders, it can seem like everything is so much louder than it

:44:00.:44:04.

needs to be. So I want to find out just how loud our appliances are and

:44:05.:44:08.

whether they're actually damaging our hearing. World Health

:44:09.:44:14.

Organisation has set a safe limit for noise at 85 decibels, roughly

:44:15.:44:20.

the sound of disease city traffic. Experts agree that this is a level

:44:21.:44:24.

at which you can listen to any sound for around eight hours without

:44:25.:44:28.

risking harm to your hearing. Anything louder than that means that

:44:29.:44:35.

it is a shorter period of time you can listen without risking damage.

:44:36.:44:40.

So how loud the appliances in our houses and do they keep below this

:44:41.:44:44.

limit? To find out, I've come to meet someone from ample quiet mark,

:44:45.:44:50.

an organisation which encourages manufacturers to produce quieter

:44:51.:44:58.

appliances. It intrigues me, are their maximum noise levels in

:44:59.:44:59.

household appliances? There are no limits in household

:45:00.:45:11.

appliances. It is a grey area. From September for upright vacuum

:45:12.:45:16.

cleaners there is a new limit capped at 80 decibel is. Is there a real

:45:17.:45:21.

danger in the home from all these appliances? If you are repeatedly

:45:22.:45:27.

subjected to loud noises, it has a detrimental affect on your health,

:45:28.:45:30.

your hearing and different stress factors on your body. Poppy is

:45:31.:45:35.

showing me the test she does to find out how loud everyday products are,

:45:36.:45:44.

and the difference between very similar products is astonishing.

:45:45.:45:46.

First, two lenders measured by Poppy with a decibel reader. The first one

:45:47.:45:53.

is 71, a good amount under the 85 decibels safe limit. The second one

:45:54.:45:58.

is much louder. As you can see, these are two very similar products.

:45:59.:46:03.

This one is 91 decibel is. If this one was in the workplace you would

:46:04.:46:08.

have to wear hearing protection, working next to a machine like this.

:46:09.:46:20.

Next, a real bugbear of mine, leaf blowers. We tested every child but

:46:21.:46:27.

it rechargeable model next to a petrol model -- we tested a

:46:28.:46:32.

rechargeable model next to a petrol one. This was incredibly low. That

:46:33.:46:40.

was 97 decibel is. That is roughly the same volume as a jackhammer.

:46:41.:46:45.

Before I left, I couldn't help but to see how I registered on the

:46:46.:46:50.

decibel scale. But it around your ears. OK. Here is my King Lear.

:46:51.:47:07.

King Lear hit 117 decibel is, that is louder than a jet engine.

:47:08.:47:15.

Goodness! That was obviously a bit of fun that damage to our hearing

:47:16.:47:21.

from loud noises in our lives is a worry. If it is regular or

:47:22.:47:27.

prolonged, it can cause permanent damage or hearing loss. It is

:47:28.:47:31.

something which really concerns Watchdog Fila Trevor Bell. He got in

:47:32.:47:38.

touch about concerns about one device which he worries could be

:47:39.:47:46.

damaging his hearing. You had trouble with your vacuum cleaner? I

:47:47.:47:50.

noticed my vacuum cleaner was rather loud. When I looked at the packaging

:47:51.:47:56.

it arrived in, it was 94 decibel which struck me as quite loud. I was

:47:57.:48:01.

concerned about that and wondered if it was likely to affect my hearing.

:48:02.:48:08.

To find out, Watchdog asked Professor Chris Black, an

:48:09.:48:10.

audiologist from the University of Manchester, to work out how long he

:48:11.:48:15.

thinks you can safely use a vacuum like Trevor's without damaging your

:48:16.:48:19.

hearing. He has given me the results. In 24 hours, you can only

:48:20.:48:26.

experience it, it is recommended for four hours, and then it starts doing

:48:27.:48:34.

damage. Goodness. The professor also tested other appliances in Trevor's

:48:35.:48:38.

house and the amount of time they can be used before risking hearing

:48:39.:48:42.

damage was extraordinary. Worst of all, this hair dryer. How many

:48:43.:48:50.

decibels would you guess? 70. It is surprisingly 105 decibels to 108.

:48:51.:48:57.

What? And in 24 hours, you must not use it for more than two minutes. To

:48:58.:49:03.

dry your hair into minutes? I was shocked at that hair dryer results,

:49:04.:49:10.

as were the Watchdog team. We tested five leading hairdryers on the

:49:11.:49:13.

market to see what noise levels they produced. We are using this test

:49:14.:49:19.

mannequin which is fitted with highly sensitive sound monitoring

:49:20.:49:21.

equipment designed to measure decibel is. The Remington and

:49:22.:49:41.

Babylis were the equivalent of an aeroplane coming into land. You

:49:42.:49:45.

should not use it for more than a couple of minutes. Tresemme Power

:49:46.:49:56.

Drive measured even higher at 110 decibels. And the GHD was even

:49:57.:50:06.

louder at 112 decibels. The loudest was the Mark Hill salon professional

:50:07.:50:10.

dryer which registered a whopping 115 decibels when used around the

:50:11.:50:14.

ear. That is the same as the upper limit of a very loud rock concert

:50:15.:50:19.

and just on the verge of the average pain threshold for a person. That is

:50:20.:50:25.

very, very loud. You would not want to be exposed to that for more than

:50:26.:50:29.

a minute every day. You would have to be very careful using this

:50:30.:50:34.

hairdryer. What I find surprisingly is only one

:50:35.:50:50.

of the hairdryers we tested contained any information about

:50:51.:50:53.

decibel levels in its packaging. And none gave any indication about how

:50:54.:50:55.

long it could be used safely. Very few products are required to provide

:50:56.:50:58.

noise information on packaging, just some white goods and cooker hoods.

:50:59.:51:02.

Ask consumers have no idea about the safety use limit which is something

:51:03.:51:06.

our sound expert believes would make a huge difference. There is room to

:51:07.:51:15.

improve the legislation, especially around the labelling. Manufacturers

:51:16.:51:19.

have to be clear about what safe level far for exposure to these

:51:20.:51:24.

devices. It seems everyday household appliances can be far more than just

:51:25.:51:29.

a nuisance. They can also cause real damage. So surely manufacturers

:51:30.:51:36.

should be warning us about this? I love his voice, I could literally

:51:37.:51:42.

listen to that everyday. Gordon's alive. You have got to do it in the

:51:43.:51:46.

voice. I cannot do it! We contacted the manufacturers

:51:47.:51:50.

of the hairdryers we tested. Most of them said they hadn't

:51:51.:51:52.

received any complaints Mark Hill, who had the loudest

:51:53.:51:54.

hairdryer, told us it uses a more powerful AC motor than other brands,

:51:55.:51:58.

but that it comes with 25 different settings, so customers have

:51:59.:52:01.

control over noise levels. And Remington says that

:52:02.:52:03.

as there are no current EU testing standards -

:52:04.:52:05.

it uses recognised US ones. But it does put sound

:52:06.:52:08.

levels on its packaging. Conair, who own Babylis

:52:09.:52:12.

and Tresemme, says it uses rigorous real life testing to make sure it's

:52:13.:52:16.

hairdryers are within And it says that in normal use

:52:17.:52:18.

a hairdryer wouldn't be directed towards the ear for a sustained

:52:19.:52:23.

period of time. Finally, GHD says it's products

:52:24.:52:25.

are independently tested to ensure they comply with health and safety

:52:26.:52:29.

regulations in every country And the one we tested more

:52:30.:52:31.

than meets British standards. Servicing Stop was supposed to be

:52:32.:52:42.

a business model which got your car But it turns out it's not your car

:52:43.:52:45.

that's getting serviced. Their salesmen are making

:52:46.:52:49.

thousands of pounds by lying to you about your car and bump

:52:50.:52:52.

starting the bill Servicing Stop is a company which

:52:53.:53:08.

effectively started on television, on a television programme. They are

:53:09.:53:12.

so proud of that they still advertise it on their website. You

:53:13.:53:15.

would have thought they would want to come on another television

:53:16.:53:19.

programme. After all, that is what we are giving them the opportunity

:53:20.:53:24.

to do, and yet, they don't seem to want to. Maybe because we are not

:53:25.:53:30.

asking in the right way. That is what it is all about. If you're

:53:31.:53:35.

going to invite somebody, then you need to invite them properly. You

:53:36.:53:40.

know, you need to do it in person, with an invitation. Something like

:53:41.:53:45.

this. This kind of ticket doesn't come along very often. They can come

:53:46.:53:49.

on television and explain to everybody, that is you, me,

:53:50.:53:55.

everybody, but they are not running a company which makes up repairs and

:53:56.:54:00.

ripstop their customers. A silver ticket. I am just going to deliver

:54:01.:54:07.

this to Servicing Stop, to Olly and Toby, it is an invitation for them

:54:08.:54:14.

to join us on Watchdog tomorrow night. So you are BBC Watchdog? We

:54:15.:54:20.

are Rogue Traders, part of BBC Watchdog. You can go up there. I

:54:21.:54:26.

have not seen them today. So somebody will take it from us? Can

:54:27.:54:34.

you pass this to Oliver and Toby? I can but they are not here. It is an

:54:35.:54:41.

invitation to come on our programme tomorrow in Manchester. Thank you so

:54:42.:54:52.

much. Well, sadly, the Richmond brothers still declined our

:54:53.:54:55.

invitation. This surely we are not as scary as Dragon 's Den. They did

:54:56.:55:02.

send a statement. They say Servicing Stop works with a network of 1500

:55:03.:55:08.

are just to provide a convenient and cost-effective way of servicing

:55:09.:55:11.

cars. They say they keep customers happy with more than 97th and

:55:12.:55:16.

satisfied last year. They provide a full cost breakdown and there is no

:55:17.:55:23.

obligation for work to be done. They say occasionally problems arrived

:55:24.:55:27.

but when made aware of them, they address them head-on, suspending

:55:28.:55:32.

garages which fall short of their standards. They have visited the

:55:33.:55:36.

garages we went to and offered a full refund. Servicing Stop's

:55:37.:55:40.

lawyers have said we have got it all wrong. They maintain they are not

:55:41.:55:44.

breaking the law, they conduct thorough checks and they do not

:55:45.:55:48.

mislead customers or sell unnecessary parts or work. Well, we

:55:49.:55:52.

would love to hear your experiences with Servicing Stop, either as a

:55:53.:55:56.

customer, a garage or if you have worked there. Incidentally, the May

:55:57.:56:02.

team have reiterated that while the company met all the criteria to

:56:03.:56:06.

appear on the programme, no business decision went ahead and there is no

:56:07.:56:10.

link between the company and Dragon's Den or Deborah Meaden.

:56:11.:56:16.

If you'd like to send a story for us to investigate,

:56:17.:56:19.

you can do it from our website bbc.co.uk/ watchdog.

:56:20.:56:24.

Brian Blessed said's film has had an impact. One viewer says his King

:56:25.:56:35.

Lear woke up his cat. Another viewer says Brian woke up her baby. Paul on

:56:36.:56:39.

Twitter says Brian Blessed are louder than a jet engine, these are

:56:40.:56:48.

the facts which matter. More on our hygiene film. An

:56:49.:56:52.

interesting e-mail from James who worked in a food factory. He said

:56:53.:56:57.

they were taught how to wash your hands and managers will carry out

:56:58.:57:01.

slobs. Maybe an issue for food chains. You would not think it is so

:57:02.:57:06.

hard to wash our hands. Thank you for getting in touch and we are

:57:07.:57:11.

getting calls on our Vodafone film. David Smith said he cancelled his

:57:12.:57:17.

contract in 2010 and it took four years for his credit file to be

:57:18.:57:21.

sorted. It limits you so much if your credit report is not up to

:57:22.:57:27.

scratch. Sam on Twitter says he is battling his ?900 bill and has to go

:57:28.:57:31.

to the ombudsman. Going to an ombudsman or an adjudication service

:57:32.:57:35.

is your best chance if you are happy not getting anywhere with your

:57:36.:57:39.

provider -- if you are not getting anywhere with your provider. And we

:57:40.:57:48.

have a wave from Tom. Not saying much at all. Sorry if we did wake

:57:49.:57:51.

your cat up tonight. Next week, we're live as usual

:57:52.:57:58.

but for one week only, we're on Thursday

:57:59.:58:02.

night, not Wednesday. So, join us Thursday

:58:03.:58:03.

at 8 for trains, planes, and perhaps the most shocking story

:58:04.:58:05.

we've had all year. The BBC Proms celebrates

:58:06.:58:07.

the extraordinary film music of John Williams in a concert

:58:08.:58:23.

to mark his 85th birthday.

:58:24.:58:28.

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